Sun Belt Conference Weekly News and Notes (Week 16)
2015-16 Sun Belt Conference Composite Schedule
2015-16 Sun Belt Conference Standings
2015-16 Sun Belt Conference Media Guide
Little Rock Claims Regular-Season Championship, Surging Warhawks Earn No. 2 Seed
NEW ORLEANS – The Little Rock Trojans claimed a first-ever outright Sun Belt Conference title with a 73-68 victory against Texas State at the Jack Stephens Center on Saturday night. The Trojans improved their record to 26-3 (.897), the best record and winning percentage in the nation.
Little Rock (26-3, 16-2) also clinched the No. 1 seed in this year’s Men’s Basketball Championship with the win on Saturday. The Trojans are just the second team in Sun Belt history to win 26 of their first 29 games to start a season (1992-93 New Orleans), and can be the first to win 27 of 30 with a victory over Arkansas State on Tuesday.
UL Monroe (17-12, 13-5) clinched the No. 2 seed in this year’s tournament and enters this week as the hottest team in the league having won seven straight games and 11 of its last 12. The Warhawks’ last loss was on Feb. 2 at rival UL Lafayette in overtime. The team switched its starting lineup just prior to the streak to an experienced lineup of seniors Majok Deng, DeMondre Harvey, Justin Roberson, Jamaal Samuel and junior Nick Coppola. The switch prior to the Jan. 21 game against Troy sparked a four-game winning streak and the Warhawks haven’t looked back since.
Three other teams punched their tickets to New Orleans last week as UL Lafayette (15-12, 11-7), UT Arlington (19-9, 10-7) and Georgia Southern (14-14, 10-8) will all make return trips to the tournament from last year. The Ragin’ Cajuns own a half-game edge over fourth-place UT Arlington for the third seed in the standings. The top four teams in the standings receive a bye to the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Leading the Ragin’ Cajuns to a 1-1 week was the current Sun Belt Conference leader in scoring (19.4), rebounds (13.2) and blocked shots (1.9) per game, junior Shawn Long. Long recorded a pair of double-doubles last week, increasing his season total to 21 and his career total to 73, en route to earning a league-high third Men’s Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week award. Long averaged 27.0 points, 16.5 rebounds, 4.5 blocks, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game last week and recorded the second 20-point, 20-rebound performance in his career after posting season-highs of 29 points and 20 rebounds in a come-from-behind win at Troy. He also swatted five shots against the Trojans, increasing his career total to 260 and surpassing Michael Southall (258, 2001-06) as the school’s all-time leader.
Long scored 25 points, grabbed 13 boards and had four blocked shots in an 83-70 loss at South Alabama on Saturday night. The double-double was the 73rd in his career, moving him past Don May (Dayton) and Bill Walton (UCLA) into sole possession of 14th place on the NCAA career list. Long is already the Sun Belt Conference’s all-time leading rebounder (1,393) and increased his scoring total to 2,224 points, passing South Alabama’s Jeff Hodge (1985-89) for fourth-place on the SBC’s all-time scoring list. He has 264 blocked shots in his career, three shy of passing UAB’s Alan Ogg (1986-90) for second-place on the league’s all-time list.
The race for the final three spots in the conference tournament will take center stage this weekend as four teams vie for postseason bids. Georgia State (15-12, 8-10) and South Alabama (13-16, 8-10) control their own destinies as two wins will send the Panthers and Jaguars on return trips to New Orleans. The Panthers will play a Saturday doubleheader against second-place UL Monroe with tip-off slated for 2 p.m. CT. Arkansas State (11-18, 7-11) and Texas State (12-14, 6-11) will look to secure their fates this week with the Bobcats playing three games, two at home, and the Red Wolves on a two-game road swing.
The 2016 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Championship will be held from Mar. 10-13, 2016, at the Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, La. The top eight teams in the regular season standings will compete for the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. All games of the tournament will be televised by ESPN3 with the championship game set for a Noon C.T. tip on Selection Sunday, Mar. 13, and an ESPN2 broadcast.
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WEEK 16 SUN BELT CONFERENCE STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Shawn Long (UL Lafayette, Senior, Forward)
The current Sun Belt Conference leader in scoring (19.4), rebounds (13.2) and blocked shots (1.9) per game recorded a pair of double-doubles last week, increasing his season total to 21 and his career total to 73. Long averaged 27.0 points, 16.5 rebounds, 4.5 blocks, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game last week and recorded the second 20-point, 20-rebound performance in his career after posting season-highs of 29 points and 20 rebounds in a come-from-behind win at Troy. The senior scored 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the second half as the Ragin’ Cajuns erased a 12-point halftime deficit. He swatted five shots against the Trojans, increasing his career total to 260 and surpassing Michael Southall (258, 2001-06) as the school’s all-time leader. Long scored 25 points, grabbed 13 boards and had four blocked shots in an 83-70 loss at South Alabama. The double-double was the 73rd in his career, moving him past Don May (Dayton) and Bill Walton (UCLA) into sole possession of 14th place on the NCAA career list. Long is already the Sun Belt Conference’s all-time leading rebounder (1,393) and increased his scoring total to 2,224 points, passing South Alabama’s Jeff Hodge (1985-89) for fourth-place on the SBC’s all-time scoring list. He has 264 blocked shots in his career, three shy of passing UAB’s Alan Ogg (1986-90) for second-place on the league’s all-time list.
RECENT RESULTS
Tuesday, February 23
Georgia Southern 54, Georgia State 52
Thursday, February 25
Georgia Southern 88, Appalachian State 63
UL Monroe 66, South Alabama 59
Little Rock 72, UT Arlington 60
UL Lafayette 73, Troy 63
Texas State 71, Arkansas State 60
Saturday, February 27
Georgia State 83, Appalachian State 70
South Alabama 83, UL Lafayette 70
UL Monroe 66, Troy 51
Litle Rock 73, Texas State 68
UT Arlington 79, Arkansas State 75
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
TUESDAY, MARCH 1
Arkansas State at Little Rock 7:15 PM CT
Texas State at UT Arlington 7:15 PM CT
THURSDAY, MARCH 3
Little Rock at Appalachian State 6:30 PM CT
Georgia Southern at UL Monroe 7:00 PM CT
Georgia State at UL Lafayette 7:15 PM CT
South Alabama at UT Arlington 7:15 PM CT
Troy at Texas State 7:30 PM CT
SATURDAY, MARCH 5
Georgia State at UL Monroe 2:00 PM CT (ESPN3)
Arkansas State at Appalachian State 2:30 PM CT
South Alabama at Texas State 4:30 PM CT
Troy at UT Arlington 7:15 PM CT
Georgia Southern at UL Lafayette 7:15 PM CT
* - Indicates Sun Belt Conference game
(All Times CT)
NEWS AND NOTES
NCAA TOURNAMENT SUCCESS
The Sun Belt Conference begins the 2015-16 season following unprecedented postseason success to end last year. Georgia State earned a No. 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament and upset No. 3 seed Baylor in the first round. Of the 32 conferences with automatic qualifiers into the tournament the Sun Belt Conference was one of 15 to win a game in the tournament.
POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT PROWESS
The Sun Belt Conference was one of the premier mid-major basketball conferences last season as demonstrated by its postseason success. The league was one of just three (Missouri Valley & Pac-12) where its members earned a win in the NCAA Tournament along with wins in at least two other postseason tournaments. UL Monroe advanced to the final of the College Basketball Invitatinoal (CBI) last year while UL Lafayette reached the semifinals of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT).
LITTLE ROCK’S RECORD START
The Trojans nearly finished non-conference play with a perfect record, starting 10-0 before its first loss of the season at Texas Tech on Dec. 22. The 10-game win streak to start the year was the best in program and Sun Belt history. The streak matched a program record, and was the first 10-game winning streak for Little Rock since the 1987-88 season. Little Rock will enter the final week of the regular season with the nation’s best record (26-3, .896) and is just the second team in Sun Belt history to win 26 of its first 29 games to start a season (1992-93 New Orleans), and can be the first to win 27 of 30 with a victory over Arkansas State on Tuesday.
TRIPLE-DOUBLE RARITIES
Junior Donte Thomas led Arkansas State to an 89-67 win at South Alabama on Saturday (Jan. 2) with a triple-double of 14 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. It marked the third triple-double in Arkansas State program history. UT Arlington’s Erick Neal recorded 27 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists to earn the program’s first triple-double. Those triple-doubles are just the fifth and sixth by a Sun Belt Conference student-athlete in a conference game since the 1998-99 season. The Sun Belt is one of only five conferences nationwide to have multiple student-athletes notch a triple-double this season.
LITTLE ROCK IN THE RANKINGS
Little Rock has appeared in the USA Today Coaches Poll in six separate weeks this season, including three straight from Jan. 11 to Jan. 25. Little Rock received as many as five points in the AP Top 25 and USA Today Coaches polls during its record 10-game winning streak. It marked the first time a Little Rock team had received votes in the AP Poll since Feb. 1988.
LITTLE ROCK’S WINNING WAYS
Little Rock is off to its best start in program history and its first 20-win season since 2008-09. The Trojans are now 11-0 at home on the season, and have won 13 straight games at the JSC dating back to last season.
TROJANS RANK NATIONALLY
Little Rock continues to lead the nation in scoring defense (57.2 ppg) and ranks fifth in defensive field goal percentage (37.0). The Trojans are 10th in country in turnover margin (3.9) and 23rd in turnovers per game (10.8).
LONG SETS ALL-TIME REBOUNDING MARKS
Shawn Long has been a rebounding machine during his three-plus seasons, averaging 10.5 rebounds per game for his career. Against Alabama on Nov. 20, Long became the school’s all-time leading rebounder, passing Roy Ebron (1,064) before passing former South Alabama standout Augustine Rubit as the Sun Belt Conference’s all-time leading rebounder. Long has pulled down 1,393 rebounds in his career.
HISTORIC FOUR-DAY STRETCH
UT Arlington stunned Memphis 68-64 on Nov. 23 at FedEx Forum to put the wraps on an impressive two-game sweep over perennial basketball powers. The Mavs were three nights removed from beating Ohio State on the road. UTA improved to 3-1 with the win after withstanding a second-half charge that saw the Tigers rally from 10 points down with a 15-0 run. The Mavericks regrouped down the stretch and claimed their first victory over Memphis in three tries.
LITTLE ROCK DEFATS MW FAVORITES
Saturday (Nov. 21), the Trojans became just the 12th team and sixth non-Mountain West member to beat the San Diego State in Viejas Arena since 2005. The win was Little Rock’s third-ever over a Mountain West opponent, and first since Colorado State on Nov. 30, 2002.
TWO ON LOU HENSON WATCH LIST
UL Lafayette senior Shawn Long & UT Arlington junior Kevin Hervey were named to the Lou Henson Mid-Season Watch List. Long was named the Preseason Student-Athlete of the Year.
LONG’S POTENTIAL CAREER MILESTONE
UL Lafayette senior Shawn Long is looking to join elite company as the only student-athletes to boast career totals of 2,250 points and 1,400 rebounds. If Long maintains his averages of 19.3 points per game and 12.9 rebounds per game he will join this exclusive list (alphabetical):
Elgin Baylor, College of Idaho/Seattle (1954-58)
Games: 80 Rebounds: 2,500 Points: 1,559
Tom Gola, La Salle (1951-55)
Games: 118 Rebounds: 2,462 Points: 2,201
Elvin Hayes, Houston (1965-68)
Games: 93 Rebounds: 2,884 Points: 1,602
Dickie Hemric, Wake Forest (1951-55)
Games: 104 Rebounds: 2,587 Points: 1,802
Lionel Simmons, La Salle (1986-90)
Games: 131 Rebounds: 3,217 Points: 1,429
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE
Shawn Long has been a double-double machine in his career for UL Lafayette totaling 72 double-doubles in 127 games. With 20 double-doubles in the 2015-16 season, Long has extended his NCAA active lead. Here is a list of the top 10 active leaders in double-doubles in the nation (through Feb. 25):
NAME G D-D
1. Shawn Long, UL Lafayette 128 73
2. Chris Horton, Austin Peay 121 56
Jameel Warney, Stony Brook 130 56
4. Egidijus Mockevicius, Evansville 132 55
5. Joel Bolomboy, Weber State 124 51
6. Josh Hawkinson, Washington State 85 39
7. Venky Jois, Eastern Washington 116 36
8. Ryan Anderson, Arizona 122 34
Josh Scott, Colorado 119 34
10. Kyle Collinsworth, BYU 133 33
Devin Thomas, Wake Forest 122 33
Stacy Davis, Pepperdine 121 33
MR. DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Anthony Livingston posted his 27th career double-double Feb. 13 with 11 points and 12 rebounds against Georgia Southern. The double-double was his 20th against Sun Belt foes and he has at least one against all SBC foes. With 27 career double-doubles, Livingston ranks 17th among active NCAA Division I players. Livingston is second among second-year student-athletes behind Pascal Siakam (New Mexico State) for most double-doubles (29).
ELITE COMPANY
Georgia State won 25 games in each of the last two seasons, the second-best totals in school history. Only 20 programs in the country have won at least 25 games in each of the last two years. The elite group includes: Kentucky, Duke, Michigan State, Arizona, Gonzaga, Louisville, Wichita State, Kansas, Wisconsin, Iowa State, Virginia, Villanova, VCU, Stephen F. Austin, San Diego State, N.C. Central, Louisiana Tech, SMU and Dayton.
WILLIAMS LEADS JAGS
Ken Williams scored a team-high 25 points vs. UL Lafayette on Saturday, increasing his career average against the Ragin’ Cajuns to 21.3 points. He has hit the 20-point plateau three times in six games, including a then-career-high 28 points in Lafayette in 2014-15. He has shot 50 percent or better from the field on five occasions and 50 percent or better from 3-point land four times. In his career, he is shooting 53.4 percent from the field, 52.9 percent from distance and 76.2 at the charity stripe vs. UL-L.
EAVES SCORES MILESTONE
Appalachian State senior Frank Eaves eclipsed 1,000 career points and was just the 31st student-athlete in program history to accomplish that feat (83 career games). App State boasted two 20-point scorers for the first time this season (Eaves - 25pts, Shabazz - 20pts) last week.
SHABAZZ, LAWSON LEAD APP
Freshman Ronshad Shabazz has now scored in double-figures in 17 games this season, including five 20-point efforts. Senior Jacob Lawson is second in the league in blocks and blocks per game, but ranks 17th nationally in blocks per minute.
GANT’S REBOUNDING MILESTONE
With his 11-rebound performance at Georgia Southern (Feb. 6), Texas State’s Emani Gant moved into a tie for 19th on the schools career rebounding list. The senior forward now has 498 in his Bobcat career. He is tied with Matt Staff (2010-13) and David Skyes (1999-03).
JAGS SCORING RARITY
After going five years in between having two student-athletes score 20 points or more in a game, USA did it twice in February. Shaq Calhoun and Georgi Boyanov shared team-high honors with 20 points against Georgia Southern (Feb. 13). Calhoun tied his career high with 20 points — setting a new personal best with four 3-pointers in six attempts — after combining for 22 points in the previous four games combined. Boyanov also scored 20 points against Georgia Southern, making all six of his field-goal attempts, the best single-game performance by a Jaguar this season. He just missed a double-double with nine rebounds.
YOUTH IN STATESBORO
Georgia Southern returns just four scholarship letterwinners from last season’s 22-9 team that advanced to the Sun Belt Conference Championship game. With 11-of-12 scholarship student-athletes who are freshmen, redshirt freshmen or sophomores (92 percent), Georgia Southern has the highest percentage of underclassmen on its current roster of the 345 NCAA Division I squads. Liberty (91 percent), Ohio State (85 percent), Fairleigh Dickinson (85 percent) and Wyoming (80 percent) round out the top-5. Georgia Southern lost 76 percent of its scoring and 72 percent of its rebounding from last season. Georgia Southern opens a four-game homestand by playing host to South Alabama Thursday. The Eagles also play host to Troy, ULM and UL Lafayette during the stretch.
#FUNBELT TO THE NBA
The Sun Belt Conference became one of seven conferences nationwide to have back-to-back first round selections in the NBA Draft last year. Former UL Lafayette guard Elfrid Payton went No. 10 overall to the Orlando Magic in the 2014 draft while former Georgia State guard R.J. Hunter went No. 28 overall to the Boston Celtics last year. The Sun Belt joined the American Athletic Conference, Big East, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC.